Beacon Deployment Delivers Benefits for Airports and Passengers

Miami International Airport has successfully completed the world's first deployment of open standard beacons across an entire airport with the goal of more effectively connecting with staff and passengers. Beacons are small Bluetooth radios that use Bluetooth ultra low energy (BLE) to broadcast a signal over distances from one to up to about 50 meters. Notably, apps on smartphones can be triggered to do something when a known beacon is encountered, which is called a proximity trigger. The ramification is that travelers with apps can interact with greater context, and they can also be sent messages or shown their position on a map, in order to assist with navigation. Miami International's experience with beacons is presented here.